Guidelines for Completing the Education Specialist CalTPA in an Online or Hybrid Setting

• All assessment requirements must be met regardless of instructional setting.
• Synchronous instruction is required; candidates must be able to see, elicit responses from (e.g., verbal eye gaze, use of AAC), and interact with students in real-time.
• Instruction must continue to be based on grade-level California Content Standards and/or Curriculum Frameworks, address cycle-specific parameters, and allow checking for understanding.
• Candidates must teach actual students from their assigned class; candidate’s own children or neighbor children may not be used to create a mock classroom.
• District-approved virtual instruction platforms should support the ability to record candidate instruction and student engagement for the purpose of generating the required video evidence.
• If video evidence cannot be captured within the online platform, an external camera may be used to generate the required video evidence.
• Candidates and students must be clearly visible in the video clips.
• Uploaded video clips must be continuous and unedited, with the following exceptions:
  • Covering or removing student names to protect privacy is not considered a video edit.
  • Video captured in district-approved virtual instruction platforms, where the video jumps from speaker to speaker, is not considered an edit.
  • The use of video captioning is permitted only to enhance audio intelligibility, i.e., transcribe any conversation that may be difficult to hear or understand. Captions must be embedded within the video file.
• Candidates must adhere to all school or district guidelines for recording in online settings and continue to ensure that appropriate permissions are in place.

• A minimum of three students must engage in the lesson required for Cycle 1. If only three students are engaged in the lesson, the three students must represent the required three focus students.
• The Getting to Know Your Students Template should indicate and briefly describe the online setting.
• The Lesson Plan and Lesson Plan Rationale Template should address any changes made to instructional strategies and/or learning goal(s) due to the online setting.

• The learning segment may include both synchronous and asynchronous instruction. However, the video clips for Steps 2 and 4 must come from synchronous segments that include candidate and student interaction.
• For Mild to Moderate Support Needs EdSp CalTPA, a minimum of three students must engage in the learning segment series of lessons required in Cycle 2. If only three students are participating, their assessment responses must represent the range of student performance required.
• For Extensive Support Needs EdSp CalTPA, candidates may work with one student in Step 2.
• The Contextual Information Template should indicate and briefly describe the online setting.
• The Learning Segment Template should address any changes made to instructional strategies and/or learning goal(s) due to the online setting.
• Candidates must continue to provide blank copies of the informal assessment, student self-assessment, and formal assessment and corresponding rubrics, including definition of proficient student performance.
• For Mild to Moderate Support Needs EdSp CalTPA, candidates must continue to collect and submit three student formal assessment responses with feedback. If only three students are participating in the learning segment, then all three responses are to be submitted with feedback.
• For Extensive Support Needs EdSp CalTPA, candidates may collect one student formal assessment response with feedback.
• When selecting assessment strategies, candidates should take into consideration how they will deliver, collect, analyze and provide feedback either through a district-approved virtual instruction platform or other virtual content sharing means.

• Test your technology before recording for the first time.
• Practice instruction and recording in an online setting prior to conducting the online lesson for the assessment cycle submission.
• Gallery view is recommended if the virtual instruction platform has this feature.
• Candidates should identify themselves without names in the video recording so that it is clear who the candidate is and who the students are, especially in high school settings.
• If using an external camera (not built-in to the recording platform), be sure to test the camera placement in advance to ensure that there is no glare on the computer screen, and that both the candidate and the students on the screen can be clearly seen and heard.

See Community Resources on the EdSp CalTPA Preparation Materials web page for additional resources that may be helpful for completing your performance assessment in an online setting.

• During online learning, be present and fully engaged by regularly and frequently communicating with students through, for example, daily or weekly videos, emails, blogs, chats, discussions, or calls. Be available to answer student questions in a timely manner.
• Simplify the structure of your in-person lesson. Offer short mini-lessons, with a mix of media options, for example, videos, pictures, charts, graphics, music, streaming websites, newspapers, maps, cartoons, or audio books.
• Pace student assignments appropriately and be flexible with due dates. Students should be given ample time to revise or re-do their assignments and assessments as appropriate.
• Read student online written responses, emails, and chat comments carefully. Student responses in online venues can be hard to interpret or understand. Ask students to explain further, elaborate, describe, defend, or argue for their perspective or position. Teach what is and is not allowable during running chats, conference calls, and peer feedback; help students develop digital literacy.
• Provide student choice and voice with assignments. Provide options for students to demonstrate knowledge, skills, and abilities. Provide optional enrichment activities.
• Selection of digital platforms and tools are a local decision dependent on local acceptable use policies. Use available technologies that are familiar to students. Take the time to practice technology with students; teach them how to access and use the apps, platforms, programs, and features appropriately. Be sure to secure permissions for video recording online learning settings.
• Ask yourself: In my online lesson, how will a student know what to do? What to do next? How will a student know that a learning activity is successfully completed? How can they self-assess or critique their work product, process, or performance? How will a student know how to signal they are finished with their work product? How will a student ask questions and get timely answers? Engage in peer review?
• Practice well-being strategies and self-care. Engage online with students during the day when you are rested and prepared. Set boundaries for when students can ask questions and expect feedback.
• Consider audio recording additional directions that students can access later if they did not understand or need additional information to assist them with the live lesson. Record virtual "accommodations" for students who may need to listen to or see the demonstration (whatever the lesson calls for) again.

• All instruction must be synchronous, whether teaching in-person or remotely. Synchronous learning occurs when teachers and students interact together in real time.
• If classes are divided into multiple groups for hybrid models, candidates can define their "small groups" or "classes" as a portion of the whole group. Candidates should refer to the video clip requirements for the number of students and when candidates must be seen in the clips to be sure the clips show the appropriate number of students.
• A learning segment of 3 to 5 lessons does not need to be taught on sequential days. If the hybrid model the school adopts has students attending synchronously on alternating days, the learning segment may be taught during those alternating meetings.

• Schools may adopt a cohort-based hybrid model that limits the number of students in a physical classroom at any given time.
  • Common forms of this model include dividing a class into two cohorts. One cohort attends in-person school every other day and engages in asynchronous remote learning on alternate days.
  • A second example of this model is the half-day approach in which each student cohort spends half the school day in-person and the other half doing asynchronous remote learning.

If this is the model the school has adopted, candidates should focus on one of the cohorts as their "small group" or "class." This is particularly important for Cycle 2 in which the learning segment of 3 to 5 lessons is to be implemented with the same student(s). If the chosen student cohort is doing synchronous work every other day, it is appropriate for the learning segment to happen on those alternating days.

• Schools may adopt a hybrid approach in which all students are engaged in synchronous learning with some learning occurring remotely and some in-person. In this model, the teacher attends to both groups simultaneously. If this is the model the school has adopted, candidates have two options:
  • choose to focus on one of the groups, either the group learning remotely in a synchronous setting or the group that is in-person. For Cycle 2, the learning segment must be taught with the same students across the sequence of lessons, so only one of these groups can be the focus and not a combination of them.
  • choose to document the lessons with both the remote students and in-person students simultaneously

If this is the model the school has adopted, candidates should focus on one of the cohorts as their "small group" or "class." This is particularly important for Cycle 2 in which the learning segment of 3 to 5 lessons is to be implemented with the same student(s). If the chosen student cohort is doing synchronous work every other day, it is appropriate for the learning segment to happen on those alternating days.